I go to Washington D.C. nearly every summer. After four years in a row you would think I would run out of places to see there. Nope! Rather than give you the run-down of all the common things, I'd like to point out the places that are new or off the beaten path that I visited last week.

When I first saw this on the itinerary I wasn't enthused. I didn't know much about it and wasn't looking forward to it. Once I arrived, I realized what a great place it is. As you walk up to the building you are immediately overwhelmed with the first amendment displayed on the outside wall and a daily newspaper from each of the 50 states. I don't mean this in a negative way!

Once inside you get to experience the history of the news media around the world. There are various interactive exhibits, actual parts of the Berlin Wall, the radio antenna from the World Trade Center, among many other intriguing things.

On the 6th floor there is the Pennsylvania Avenue Terrace. This overlooks the street with a magnificent view of the Capitol Building.

Now I thought this was going to be hokey and very similar to a Ripley's Believe it or Not/ Tourist Trap. I was pleasantly surprised! I had so much fun in this museum and learned a lot too. There were so many things I learned and confirmed about Intelligence Programs of both the U.S. and other countries. Not only is it a museum detailing how it all works- but they have quite a few interactive things like a GPS guided tour of Washington that lets you in on some secrets. This was highly recommended.

Certainly not as exhilarating as the first two I have mentioned I feel that it is worth it. The only Presidential Museum in Washington D.C. The place he retired to after serving as the 28th President. He had some great amenities for his time and a beautiful solarium that overlooked his garden. President Wilson holds a special place in my heart as he was an educator, only president with a PH.D., and former President of Princeton University before serving in office.

View from the staircase in to his solarium.

View from the solarium on to his garden.

National Museum for the U.S. Navy- http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org8-1.htm

While rather difficult to get in, as they require very strict security measures, it was well worth the visit as it costs nothing to enter. They have an entire museum set up in an old hanger as well as a ship USS Barry that can be toured.

One final recommendation- Old Ebbitt Grill. We had a delicious meal here on our final night in D.C. I would suggest it to anyone. Keep in mind it is very popular and gets busy, so make a reservation if you go!

Thanks to seatguru.com my very long flight to Alaska later this month has been improved!My husband and I booked a cruise to Alaska about two weeks ago and had to book our flights quickly because of impending fare increases.We had to make a snap decision and selected two seats because they were the only two together on that segment.We didn’t think much about it.

Today I stumbled upon seatguru.com and decided to look up our seats.Well, it’s a good thing I did because our seats on the flight from Vancouver to Houston 1) did not recline 2) are a smaller width than standard seats 3) have no window.Ahhhhh!I quickly logged in to the Continental website to see if there were ANY other seats available.Lucky us, there were two that opened up 5 rows forward from the original seats.I can’t imagine what I would have done for 5 hours in a little box. :(

Author

Hi! I am Nicole Perry, owner of Sunkissed Adventures.

My original career was in the field of education. I have a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a Masters in Teaching & Learning. After teaching for 6 years I felt the urge to feed my wandering soul with something more adventurous, and so I started Sunkissed Adventures. Four years later I left teaching and took Sunkissed Adventures full time! You won't find grammatical correctness in this blog. It's informal. Off the cuff. Take what you need and skip what you don't!

I grew up in South Florida, but spent my summers traveling with my parents to far away lands and on educational adventures. With my parents' influence, I became enamored with the world around me. They showed me other cultures and provided me with the inspiration to see the entire globe. And so here I am today, planning trips of a life time for others! I can be found on some online chat websites under the name Sunkissed Mommy!